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Looking around this Wednesday afternoon, you would have had a hard time understanding what was happening. A cabin of Juniors in their finest Granny outfits was hosting a tea party, complete with bingo. Down by the barn, another Junior cabin had gone looking for fairies, with a stop at the fairy salon along the way. Past the lake you’d find mermaids getting their hair styled, pirates racing corcls and hunting tadpoles, and a cabin of grannies chasing escaped chickens. It was, in other words, a normal Cabin Day.

We’ve written about this Wednesday tradition plenty of times before, the way the camp sets aside its regular schedule for an afternoon, the bonding that happens when a whole cabin sticks together, and the surprises the counselors dream up and keep secret until the last minute. During the week the girls scatter to their own activities, following their own interests, but on Cabin Day they come back together and do one thing as a cabin group. What that one thing turns out to be is a fun surprise, and a nice change of pace during the week.

Juniors in Make-Believe

Among the Juniors, the themes ran toward make-believe. One cabin switched to full Granny mode— dressing up, sipping tea, and settling in for a round of “Granny Bingo” on the dining hall porch. Another went on a fairy scavenger hunt and built tiny fairy houses in the forest. Two Junior cabins loaded up and headed to the Further Up Farm to pick flowers and meet a few chickens, with a stop at Dolly’s capping the outing.

Middlers in Motion

The Middlers scattered in every direction at once. One cabin made a day at the beach right here in the mountains, with beach games and an octopus sprinkler and picture frames decorated in shells and pearl beads. Another spent the afternoon as mermaids at the lake. There were pirates decorating eye patches between corcl races, a party in the Middler Lodge with felt sleep masks and freshly painted nails, a hike up to Castle Rock that ended with a snack of Puppy Chow, and a tetherball tournament that started with a quick swim.

A Senior Sorting

The Senior Line went bigger, turning the whole afternoon into a camp-wide game of Harry Potter. Dumbledore and the Sorting Hat divided the seniors into Rockbrook houses— White Squirrel, Chocolate Chip, Owala, Tetris Tots, and the Cardinals— and sent them off on a counselor hunt. The houses searched and received a nice reward of Coke floats and an hour of lake-side fun.

Sliding Rock After Dinner

After dinner, we gathered all the Middler cabins together and took them to Sliding Rock. There’s nothing quite like the shriek of girls hitting that cold mountain water at the bottom of the slide, and then climbing right back up to do it again. We followed our sliding, naturally, with a stop at Dolly’s, everyone’s favorite spot for a sweet treat. It’s a classic camp combination: busloads of damp, happy Middlers working through their heaping cones of ice cream, chatting and eventually singing with more force than seems possible.

It might seem random and scattered all over camp… a tea party and tadpoles, grannies and Puppy Chow, an octopus sprinkler and a sorting hat, numerous chickens and plenty of rushing cold water. But Cabin Day is joyfully creative, the kind of silly Wednesday we love at Rockbrook.

There’s a particular pleasure in a Sunday morning at Rockbrook, and it begins with the wake-up bell ringing a little later than usual. After a week this full of action— all the swimming, tennis, horseback riding, climbing and so forth— a slow start feels great. The girls drifted into breakfast still wearing their pajamas, another long Rockbrook tradition, and a nice nod to taking things easy once in a while. For breakfast, we added fresh Krispy Kreme donuts, also a regular Sunday morning treat at camp. PJs and donuts, a double treat. Afterwards, back at the cabins, everyone changed into their red and white uniforms for two more Sunday morning Rockbrook traditions, flag raising and Chapel.

Our Hi-Up campers, the seasoned tenth graders, serve as the color guard, and they led us in a flag raising ceremony, as the whole camp gathered in a wide circle around them. They raised the American flag and our own Rockbrook flag. We recited the Pledge of Allegiance and sang “In the Heart of a Wooded Mountain” together in the bright morning sun, all of us in red and white against the green grass. Then, quietly, in a single line, we made our way down into the woods to the amphitheater for Chapel.

Chapel on Being Yourself

“Chapel” at Rockbrook isn’t a religious service. It’s a weekly gathering where we slow down and reflect together on a shared idea or value. Over the years it’s grown into an acronym we’re fond of— a Celebration of Happiness, Adventure, Peace, Earth, and Love.

This week the theme was “Be Yourself.” The focal point was Sarah reading aloud from Daniel Pinkwater’s 1977 classic, The Big Orange Splot. It’s the story of a man whose plain house, identical to every other house on the street, gets splashed one day by a runaway can of orange paint, and who then decides, rather than cover it up, to paint it with even more colors, bringing his dreams to life. Initially, his neat-loving neighbors disapprove of his individuality, but one by one they paint their houses too, until the whole street is fantastically different. The girls seemed to really understand how being yourself, despite your differences, can take some courage, but leads to greater happiness. It turns out camp is a wonderful place to see that in action. An odd burst of rain forced us to relocate to the Lakeview Lodge, but that made songs like “Free to Be You and Me” and a few others sound even better.

Two Kinds of Jersey

After rest hour, it was time for an all-camp event: Jersey Day. The girls knew to pack a jersey, and the Landsports field filled up with bright team colors and numbers— a friendly festival of basketball, soccer, and football players in jerseys, foam fingers waving, temporary tattoos and face painting.

Of course we had music bumping, and a few decorations like a yellow giraffe sprinkler, helping the whole thing take on the loud, happy, slightly chaotic energy of a real game day. There was a sub-relay where you stepped through hoops and zigzagged the cones, a station for churning “Jersey-cow butter,” a giant Connect 4 game, a massive nine square in the air game, disc golf, a water balloon toss, and a whole row of inflatable targets for tossing a football or frisbee, kicking a soccer ball, or sinking a basket. Plenty of nachos to keep everyone going. The baseball toss turned out to be the afternoon’s great humbling— ball after ball sailed wide of the hole, and by the end only three girls, Scotty, Dylan, and Effie, could claim they’d actually made one. The rest of us just cheered louder.

And then there were our meals today, a showcase of Rick’s idea of “Jersey Day”. While the girls thought “team jerseys,” Rick thought New Jersey, and he turned the whole menu into a love letter to the Garden State. Lunch was the famous “fat sandwich” born at Rutgers— chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, and french fries all tucked into one sub roll with honey mustard— alongside giant bowls of blueberries. Dinner took us to the Jersey shore: a fried fish sandwich with homemade tartar sauce, coleslaw, and hush puppies. And for dessert, of course, saltwater taffy, which New Jersey gave the world. Another Jersey to celebrate.

We capped this busy day with a showing of Zootopia 2 in the gym, a recent animated film that, among other things, shows how differences can be worked through with a little communication and empathy. With sleeping bags and crazy creek chairs spread across the floor, the girls settled in to sing and clap along to its songs, happily ready to relax from the day.

A day of jerseys— and proof again that being a little different can be part of what brings us together, and makes the day more fun.

One of the quietest campers caught my attention last night. She’s a girl who tends to hang back a bit, who thinks about things before jumping right in. And yet there she was at our twilight event, a can of shaving cream in her fist, zooming across the landsports field and cackling as she fired her foam. A little later I saw her grinning as she sculpted a mohawk into her friend’s hair. Something about the whole ridiculous scene had swept her up completely. This was more than ordinary fun. This was exuberant fun, contagious, high-voltage joy spilling out everywhere.

If you’ve never seen one, the setup for a shaving cream fight is super simple. We ring the bell, the girls come pouring down to the landsports field in their swimsuits, and we hand out about a hundred and fifty cans of plain white foam. The music starts pumping. And then, with no instruction whatsoever, everyone knows exactly what to do. Spray it, smear it, plop a full handful right on top of someone’s head. Chase and be chased. Within five minutes there’s foam in everyone’s hair, on every back and shoulder, and the whole field is one big tangle of slippery, shrieking, laughing girls. It is loud, it is messy, and it is about as happy as a group of children can possibly be.

What makes a shaving cream fight so wonderful, though, is that it’s exuberance aimed outward. It’s not so much about covering yourself as it is about covering someone else. You sneak up behind a friend with a fat handful of foam, plant it squarely on her back, and tear off grinning, already bracing for the same in return. You spray, and get sprayed, and both halves are a delight. This is why a shaving cream fight requires other people. It requires pursuit and ambush, shrieks and retaliation, mischief mixed with generosity.

And when the whole group throws itself in at once, something special happens. The exuberance multiplies. Each girl’s silliness gives the next one a little more nerve, and the energy loops around the field, pulling in even the campers who arrived unsure. Nobody is keeping score, nobody is performing, nobody is left out. They are simply, completely, joyfully together. As a parent, this is exactly the kind of fun you hope your child gets to have— unguarded, generous, and shared with good friends.

It’s amazing what these girls can do together— even the quietest ones. All it took was one foamy evening at Rockbrook.

It’s hard to think of something more exciting than the opening day of camp. Something everyone has been anticipating and planning for and dreaming about. This is true for everyone involved. The year-round team of directors have been working toward this day for months. The staff members have just finished more than a week of orientation and training. Of course, the campers are the most excited because this is their chance to finally enjoy camp life like they’ve imagined it. Whether arriving for the first time at Rockbrook or, as is true for some of the older campers, for their sixth or seventh year, this is a great day filled with cheers, smiles, hugs, a few butterflies, and the delight of anticipating something really fun.

If you were here, this excitement was obvious. From the mob of fired-up counselors jumping and cheering on the hill, to the jittery campers smiling and waving as they drove in, arriving at camp today was a celebration. Fresh name tags were hung, trunks and other luggage moved into cabins, and cabin groups came together for the first time. Overall, despite a little glitch here and there, the whole check-in process unfolded smoothly. With this many people involved, camp life can sometimes be an exercise in patience. Thank you for yours today.

Our assembly under the hill on the grass beneath the big walnut tree was a fun introduction to camp. The campers sat together in cabin groups and enjoyed the view of the mountains in the distance as Sarah introduced the line heads, some of the other directors, and described a few safety reminders to everyone. Lunch was Rick’s masterful Mac and Cheese, salad, and sweet, ripe watermelon. This has become a traditional first meal at camp for us, and it’s always a big hit.

Down to the Lake

Right after lunch, it was time for the middlers and seniors to head to the lake. With Sarah, the other directors and all of the lifeguards organizing, the campers took turns demonstrating their swimming ability. We ask them to swim out a ways, back using a backstroke, and to tread water for a minute. Doing all that confidently earns a blue wrist band and tag, and qualifies you to swim anywhere in the lake (the deep areas). Other levels have different colored tags and bands, and are more restricted to particular areas of the lake (more shallow areas), but everyone who wants to cool off at the lake can do so.

Rockbrook’s stream-fed lake is famously “refreshing,” so most everyone was happy to jump in to cool off on this warm afternoon. These “swim demos” are a true community event with other campers and staff members cheering as each person leaps from the dock into the water. The mood is upbeat, encouraging and celebratory. The Juniors will have their swim demos tomorrow.

While different groups were swimming at the lake, others were touring the camp, learning the locations of different activities. If new to Rockbrook, there are creeks to find, hidden cabins in the woods, and important hubs of activity. The Alpine tower, for example, is in the forest behind the gym, and the camp store is partway along the path down to Horseback Riding Center. Woodworking meets in the same building as the Lower Pottery studio, and Yoga sessions are held in the newly renovated hillside lodge. Rockbrook is not particularly spread out, but there are a lot of activity locations to learn.

Activity Skits

We rounded out the afternoon by gathering in the gym for activity skits. Using costumes and songs, these skits are silly presentations aiming to entice campers to try the different activities. We saw a climbing demonstration, a Bob Ross themed painting and drawing skit, a magical transformation of t-shirts into tie-dyes, a wild west dance battle, and a Mulan-themed riflery contest, just to name a few. The skits did a great job conveying the spirit of exploration and fun for everyone no matter their experience or skill level.

One of the best things about arriving at camp is meeting all the people, all of the enthusiastic, kind people each camper sees and talks to each day. Cabin mates, counselors, activity instructors, the camp moms, directors, nurses, kitchen and maintenance crews— this whole community coming together on the same day to introduce ourselves and begin enjoying each other’s company. It’s a marvelous moment. Everyone’s here, and we’re ready to roll!

Sometimes the weather is worth talking about. Like now, here at Rockbrook. We’re seeing a very unusual few days of cooler temperatures and misty light rain. Instead of 80s during the day we have 60s, and instead of the occasional thunderstorm rolling through, we have grey misty skies blanketing the mountains. Here’s an interesting chart of data from the Rockbrook weather station that shows the contrast. It looks like this slow moving front will be with us for a while.

Safe from Flooding at Rockbrook

I should mention that flooding is not a worry we have here at Rockbrook. While the French Broad river adjoins the horseback riding area, all of our camp buildings are further up the hill (more than 100 feet higher in elevation) safely away from the flood zone of the river. The record setting flood level caused by hurricane Helene last fall only touched one of our barns causing no damage. For us, this kind of rain increases the flow of our creeks and improves the waterfalls we can visit, but over the years, we’ve learned to channel rain water through culverts and down various gutters and ditches. The camp facilities do quite well, even with what seems like a lot of rain.

Carrying On Despite the Weather

The people at camp are well too! We’re making good use of long-sleeve sweatshirts and hoodies, and finding rain coats and shoes that are OK to get wet. Despite this “heavy dew,” the girls are still zipping around camp to their activities, still being creative, playing and enjoying each other’s company. All of our craft activities have continued as normal since they already meet in covered spaces, with the gym and dining hall becoming central locations for groups of girls who would have been outdoors (like swimming, for example). We’ve built fires in the fireplaces of the three lodges at camp to create cozy spots to warm up and hang out. We served hot chocolate during muffin break this morning.

We’ve taken some adventure trips in and around camp too. A few girls hiked out to Rockbrook Falls (the largest of the two major waterfalls on the camp property), and a couple of groups still navigated the Rockbrook zipline course, flying by through the drizzle and mist. Another group carried hammocks on a hike up to an area we call “The Nest.” This is a unique spot under Castle Rock where there is an overhang sheltering you from the rain. We added special hangers for the hammocks there allowing the girls to set up a “nest” and enjoy amazing views of the forest (totally dry!).

Building Resilience and Grit

This weather, despite it being a little uncomfortable, invites us to shift gears a little while still feeling like a regular part of camp life. The girls here show their grit and carry on, some completely oblivious to the differences. The girls are loving the freedom to be outside, to get a little wet and maybe a little muddy. They’re immersed in nature in a way that makes everything feel more vibrant and real. Most importantly, they’re with their friends, having a chance to sit a little closer and savor just being together. Having time like that, away from their usual sources of entertainment, is something they crave.

Take a look at this article in the Atlantic, and you’ll see what I mean. “What Kids Told Us About How to Get Them Off Their Phones,” By Lenore Skenazy, Zach Rausch, and Jonathan Haidt. Here’s the punch line: they want more freedom out in the real world to be with their friends. The authors claim our kids need more time with real friends in the real world.

Hmmm… Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Let’s be grateful camp provides exactly that.

They say good things are worth the wait, but sometimes that waiting is tough. Like when you’ve had to wait all summer for your camp session to start, or when it’s been almost a whole year since you’ve seen your camp friends, it’s almost torture. We saw many examples of this pent-up anticipation as the girls attending our third session arrived. They fidgeted in the back seat of the car as it inched along the check-in line, each stop seemingly taking far too much time. Some were bobbing up and down out of their car’s skylight along the way. These girls were ready to get started, and finally camp had begun.

Tours and Name Games

The counselors, too, were jumping with excitement eager to welcome their campers to Rockbrook. All morning, under beautiful sunny skies, girls arrived to join their cabin groups and begin setting up their bunks, making beds and organizing trunks. Each group took turns visiting the “spa” to have their hair checked, while others enjoyed walking tours of the main sections of camp. “That’s the path to the Alpine climbing tower, and that’s the way to the woodshop.” The youngest girls, the “Juniors,” visited the camp store to collect the gear they had ordered. You’ll soon see bright new Rockbrook sweatshirts, pajama pants, and water bottles all around camp.

Swimming Demonstrations

Right away, we could see it happening: an easygoing feeling to those first conversations, to the name games, to the singing of camp songs at the assembly on the hill. After lunch, which featured heaping platters of Rick’s homemade mac-n-cheese, that same feeling added to the refreshment of taking our first dip in the Rockbrook lake. One by one, the girls jumped off the dock, swam and treaded water to demonstrate their swimming ability for the team of lifeguards. With the encouragement from the directors, lifeguards and counselors there helping, these “swim demos” also felt great in the warm afternoon weather.

As we settled down after dinner and enjoyed a sunset over the distant mountains— the hill at camp has a great view for summer sunsets —the girls again seemed at ease. The excitement of every camp activity will start in the morning. For now, everyone could rest in their cabin among new and old friends, breathe in the cool mountain night air, and feel the comfort of finally being here at Rockbrook.

Adapting to a Power Outage

We always say that camp teaches resilience, and today we had a clear example. About 4:30 this morning, a large red oak tree fell about a half mile down the road from Rockbrook and took down all the power lines with it. Normally, power outages around here are quickly repaired and we’re back to normal in a couple of hours, but sometimes it can take much longer. With this in mind, we installed a backup generator in 2019. It powers our kitchen, water system and health hut, but that’s it. During an outage, we’re still able to prepare and serve meals, use the bathrooms (though without hot water), and take care of basic health needs.

Right from the beginning campers used headlamps and flashlights as needed. For example, this morning in the dining hall, we ate our breakfast by battery-powered lanterns and the early morning light from the skylights. All of the regular camp activities carried on just fine without electricity since so much of what we do is outdoors. Our office, on the other hand, has been without power all day, so thank you for your patience if you’ve been trying to reach us by phone or email. Most of the campers postponed their showers today, waiting for the hot water heaters to come back online, which they did, by the way, at 4pm when the power came back on (thankfully!).

Overall, these inconveniences required us to be a little flexible and a little patient, but life at camp always requires some of that. Camp girls know how to pivot to a new activity, switch gears because of the weather, and always find something spontaneous to do with a friend. At camp, what at first seems like challenges easily become fresh opportunities.

Yesterday our July Mini 2 campers arrived, finally ending their waiting for camp. All that anticipation turned into visible excitement as they checked into camp one by one. Cabin groups came together, as counselors cheered with each arrival. The girls set up their cabins, had a quick tour of the camp, and visited the camp store to collect their pre-camp gear purchases… all before an all-camp assembly on the hill and lunch.

Wizard of Oz All-Camp Event

The big event of the day was a “Wizard of Oz” themed all-camp event that sent the girls scampering about to try different fun activities. Most of the fun happened up on the hill, with speakers playing songs from Wicked and The Wizard of Oz echoing across the camp. One activity station was the “Yellow Brick Skittle,” where participants had to pick out all the yellow Skittles from about 10 pounds of them.

Another station was Broom Making with the Wicked Witch, where they made mini brooms using dried lavender, thyme, and hay. We also had apple slice decorating as a food option, kind of like mini candy apples with various toppings. We organized a scavenger hunt where kids searched for items like ruby slippers, flying monkeys, the Grimmery (a big book), and Galinda the Good Witch. Some items were hidden around camp, while others were staff costumes.

At Friendship Rock, we held “Elphaba’s Cry Workshop” inspired by the movie Wicked. This was an opportunity for anyone to perform their cry in front of everyone. We heard several impressive renditions of “Defying Gravity.” We had an “I’m Melting Dunk Tank” where campers answered trivia questions for a chance to dunk someone. Another activity was guessing how many silver Hershey kisses were in a jar; it was 216 kisses, and a Middler camper guessed it exactly!

There was also a lollipop toss called the “Lollipop Guild” (similar to cornhole), “Scarecrow Hay Day” where kids searched for scarecrow brains inside straw bales, and a costume relay race dressing up as scarecrows. Other activities included apple bobbing with the Tin Man in the lake, hair bow making with Dorothy in the dining hall, and hot air balloon crafting with felted 3D balloons. As for costumes, we saw lots of Elphabas, Galindas, Totos, Yellow Brick Roads, Munchkins, Scarecrows, Tin Men, and even an Emerald City!

Overall, it was a fantastic afternoon that showed our campers’ amazing adaptability. As they bopped between activities spread across camp, making the most of every opportunity, they proved once again that the best part of camp is simply being together.

We’re finding ourselves in a typical summer weather pattern. Like the last couple days, and probably for the next few, today began cool and foggy. The temperature and dew point hovered together around 67 degrees when we woke up, with the humidity about 99 percent. We’re pulling a lot of moisture out of the Gulf, and there’s no major weather system to push it out. As the sun warmed things up, all morning we enjoyed bright skies with big puffy clouds. Higher up near our surrounding mountains the air is much cooler, so as our moist air near the ground warmed, evaporating the dew, it began to rise. That clash between the rising moist air and the cooler air above it created what we expected: a thunderstorm.

Today’s storm happened just after lunch, around 2pm. Perfect timing! Our lightning alarm sounded and everyone scattered back to their cabins for rest hour. For the next hour or so we watched the storm drop more than half an inch of rain… all that moisture returning to the ground. By 3:30, the storm had passed and the sun was back out for the rest of the day. You can see how an afternoon thunderstorm can become a recurring thing. By the way, if you’re interested in the weather at Rockbrook, our weather station publishes its data here and here.

Dancing in the Rain

Sometimes we’re simply caught in the rain, getting wet and cooling off. This can inspire some pretty silly stuff. For example, yesterday the Hi-Ups decided, since they were already wet, to dance around in the rain and then roll down the hill wearing trash bags. Why? For no particular reason other than the fun of it. Today, a couple of senior campers found themselves walking in the creek, and soon with no warning having a splash battle. Both examples ended up with everyone soaking wet and laughing hysterically. Once again, there’s proof that camp offers a joyous freedom to relax into the world, to be fully present and playful, no matter what the weather. We adults might occasionally summon the courage to say, “Ah, what the heck!” and dance in the rain, soaked to the skin. But kids at camp? They do it instinctively and without hesitation. Lucky them!

Craft Specialists at Camp

Several of the craft activities at Rockbrook are led by day-staff specialists, artists and craft artisans who can offer more knowledge and experience than a cabin counselor. These are crafts where more instruction makes all the difference. Woodworking is a perfect example. It involves a range of essential skills and concepts, not to mention sharp cutting tools that require careful handling. Pottery, too, benefits from experienced teaching, especially when girls are learning to throw on the wheel. Having someone close by to demonstrate techniques and offer hands-on help can be the key to success. Weaving in Curosty and Needlecraft are two more examples. In each case, the girls are learning something new, often quite sophisticated, even as they’re simply having fun exploring their creativity.

In the end, it’s a summer day at camp with its misty mornings, midday showers, muddy hands and feet, and a special unbounded laughter we cherish. It’s a daily rhythm we’ve come to love, rain and all.

Rockbrook is always a place of celebration, but the 4th of July gives us an extra special reason to kick things up a notch! And the festivities start first thing, even before the rising bell.

The riding staff members, dressed in their finest red, white and blue, ride decorated horses up into camp! This morning, they spread out and rode down each cabin line shouting, “The British are coming! Wake up! Wake up!” (a playful nod to Paul Revere’s famous midnight ride). We’ve done this for years at Rockbrook, but it’s still a fun surprise for the girls to wake up hearing hoofbeats outside their cabins. A little sleepy-eyed, the girls stumble out onto the hill and gather around the flagpole where the Hi-Ups lead a flag raising ceremony.

British Counselors Take a Dip

Down at the lake, the counselors we have from the UK performed a short skit that ended up with all of them jumping in the water, proving again that the British are already here.

Red, White and Blue All Day

All this patriotic spirit and celebration, continued throughout the day. Red, white and blue decorations transformed the dining hall with streamers, posters, and ribbons hung in every direction. We set tables with patriotic headbands, stickers, glitter, and temporary tattoos that quickly became the most popular accessories of the day, giving our regular camp activities an extra dose of stars-and-stripes sparkle.

Rick's Special Tamales

Rick and his fantastic kitchen crew prepared a special lunch for everyone, something that he serves only occasionally because it takes multiple people three days to make. Using traditional ingredients, they made us 4 different varieties of tamales. Masa corn flour, stock, and different fillings like cheese, chicken, peppers and onions, plus two different sauces (a red and a green) are all wrapped in a corn husk and then steamed for two hours. Altogether they made about 1,200 tamales! Giant pots of steaming tamales filled the kitchen. Unwrapping warm, freshly steamed tamales for lunch. What a treat!

We served dinner on the hill, a classic meal of burgers, french fries, and watermelon or pineapple. The girls were surprised to find they could have a can of Cheerwine soda kept cold in the creek.

Counselor Hunt and Pie Eating

The evening activity began with a classic counselor hunt. Ten counselors hid around the camp and each cabin roamed together looking for them. Only one cabin managed to find all ten, completing their map and earning a prize trip with Casey next week. We also held a pie-eating contest. We’ve found over the years that it works best to have counselors eat the pie and the campers cheer them on. It’s actually quite difficult to eat a whole pie, but Blaire was able to beat six others in the contest.

As it grew dark, we topped the day with our own fireworks show. Casey gave out glow sticks to all the girls, and as they gathered on the hill in their crazy creek chairs, we blasted fun music. For the next 30 minutes or so, we enjoyed a dance party while the boom and sparkle of fireworks lit up the sky. As the girls twirled their glow sticks and sang along to the music, they cheered with every colorful burst.

From early galloping horses to the nighttime fireworks spectacular, the 4th of July today at Rockbrook was a day-long celebration of camp fun, red-white-and-blue flair, and good times with friends. Happy 4th of July!